CB South and North Penn battled to a 2-2 tie in a battle of SHSHL Continental Conference rivals. Ben Reese recaps all the action. Check out all the recaps.
By Ben Reese
HATFIELD -- The Central Bucks South offense relies on taking a massive amount of shots on net.
The Titans can usually be counted on to take upwards of 45 to 50 shots per game. Until Thursday night at Hatfield Ice, when they could manage only 21 shots against North Penn in a 2-2 Suburban High School Hockey League tie.
"Slow start, first game back (after the holiday break)," said South coach Shaun McGinty. "We definitely didn't have the offense we had.
"They did a great job blocking shots. It's not what I wanted."
Asked if he remembered a 20-shot game for South, he shook his head.
"I can't remember a (20-shot) game since I've been here," he said. "We're big on shots, getting over the blue line into the offensive zone.
"They were dumping and chasing, beating us to the puck on the dump and chase. They played well at their game plan and we struggled to get going. They were definitely getting the shots on net, doing what they wanted."
What exactly did North Penn want?
"One of the things we preach every game is that we want at least 10 shots each period, and we'd like to hold the other team to seven or less,” said NP coach Kevin Vaitis. "They love shooting the puck from all different angles and getting shots on net. We did a good job tonight keeping their shots to the outside, keeping them to a minimum."
Jake Nelson scored the tying goal for North Penn in the third period with 4:25 gone. Then Knight goalie Nick Ebbinghaus stood tall in the net, making a vital save on a breakaway by Matt Milanesi with less than six minutes left in the game.
"We know who they have and we know what they want to do with the puck," Nelson said. "In our D zone, we set up and we block their shots. We know where they're coming from."
It was Nelson's goal that proved to be the most important of the night for North Penn. South scored first in the opening period and the two teams traded goals in the second before Nelson's tally.
Nelson picked up a rebound of a Tyler Greenstein shots just outside of the crease and beat Titan goalie Oscar Levine.
"I saw Tyler cutting," Nelson said. "I knew he was going to shoot so I went to the net and filled my lane, looking for a rebound. It was right there."
It was obviously an important game, pitting the unbeaten Titans against the once-beating Knights. As it turned out, both teams benefitted from the tie.
"That was a big game for us," Vaitis said. "They're obviously defending league champs and runner-up in the Flyers Cup.
"They've been on top for the last couple of years. We know we can compete with these guys. We can compete with Pennridge. It's just a matter of us putting it all together."
Nelson enjoyed the game.
"It's a fun game," he said. "Some of these games can be a slow pace. When you have two even-matched teams, it can make it a lot of fun on the ice."
The game didn't turn out to be as much fun for South.
"They played well," McGinty said. "Can't take anything away from them. It's not the showing we wanted.
"I think we were lucky to get out of there with a tie. They deserved to win. They won all three periods."
But the Titans did have a problem. They were missing both Colin Abbonizio (flu) and James Schuler (concussion), two stalwarts of their team.
"We're not healthy," said McGinty. "We haven't had a full team all season."
South got things going with 8:45 gone in the first period. Ryan Gingras beat Ebbinghaus to the glove side for the first goal.
The Knights came right back in the second period as Nathan Oh scored with only seven seconds elapsed in the stanza. However, the Titans grabbed the lead again at the 1:30 mark on Milanesi's power play goal.
South goalie Oscar Levine preserved that lead with two back-to-back spectacular saves with less than three minutes remaining in the period.
Then Nelson sewed up the tie with his goal in the third and Ebbinghaus kept it tied with his stop of Milanesi's breakaway.
The Continental standings remain the same. South holds down the top spot with 11 points and the Knights are right behind with nine.
CB South 2, North Penn 2
CB South 1 1 0 – 2
North Penn 0 1 1 – 2
First period: 1, Ryan Gingras CBS (Reis Braccio, Brian Keilman) 8:45.
Second period: 2, Nathan Oh NP (Jared Albano) 0:07; 3, Matt Milanesi CBS (Gingras) 1:30 PP.
Third period: 4, Jake Nelson NP (Ryan Cunningham, Tyler Greenstein) 4:25.
Shots: CBS 21, NP 27. Saves: Oscar Levine (CBS) 25, Nick Ebbinghaus (NP) 19.
Wednesday, Jan 2
NORTH PENN 5, HARRY S TRUMAN 3
The Knights erupted for four straight goals in the second period to take control of the contest after the Tigers knotted the score 1-1 early in the period.
Nathan Oh put the Knights on the board just under 10 minutes into the opening period, using assists from Jared Albano and Ryan Cunningham. William Findlay’s goal 4:17 into the second period knotted the score. Steven Avellino and Jeremy McCartney had the assists. Joshua Kaufhold’s goal 17 seconds later (Tyler Greenstein/Jake Nelson assists) gave the Knights a lead they would not lose.
Jake Nelson, Albano and Greenstein reeled off consecutive goals – Albano’s was short-handed with an assist from Oh. Greenstein and Kaufhold had assists on Nelson’s goal, and Thomas Boyle and Kaufhold assisted on Greenstein’s. Avellino scored a goal late in the period with an Eric Stofan assist to make it a 5-2 game heading into the final period. Findlay’s short-handed goal was the only score of the final period.
Andrew Zanoni had 17 saves in a winning effort in goal for the Knights.
North Penn 1-4-0 5
Harry S Truman 0-2-1 3
First period: 1, Nathan Oh NP (Jared Albano/Ryan Cunningham) 9:51.
Second period: 2, William Findlay HST (Steven Avellino/Jeremy McCartney) 4:17; 3, Joshua Kaufhold NP (Tyler Greenstein/Jake Nelson) 4:34; 4, Jake Nelson NP (Tyler Greenstein/Joshua Kaufhold) 5:00; 5, Jared Albano NP (Nathan Oh) 8:25; 6, Tyler Greenstein NP (Thomas Boyle/Joshua Kaufhold) 10:06); 7, Steven Avellino HST (Eric Stofan) 11:01.
Third period: 8, William Findlay HST, 4:28.
Shots: NP 37, HST 20. Saves: Andrew Zanoni (NP) 17, Jeremy Wedul (HST) 32.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 12, UPPER DUBLIN 3
Ben Lerner’s six-point night (three goals, three assists) led a potent Hatboro-Horsham attack. Vince Tarsi added two goals and three assists for five points, and Alex Howieson’s four-point night included two goals and two assists.
The Hatters reeled off three straight goals in less than eight minutes to take early control of the game. Sayvion Jones (Ben Lerner assist), Tarsi (Aidan Esack/Ziyad Elsbbagh assists) and Lerner (Jones assist) each scored a goal in the period – Lerner’s was short-handed. Max Frearson broke the Hatters’ run with an unassisted goal to make it a 3-1 game.
In the second period, the Hatters upped their lead to 6-1, thanks to power play goals from Howieson (Tarsi/Esack assists), Jones (Lerner assist) and Lerner (Jordan Gillis assist). Ari Nordlinger found the net for the Cardinals, but Esack (Tarsi/Howieson assists) and Lerner each added a goal to give the Hatters a commanding 8-2 lead heading into the final period.
Mason Rash earned the win in goal for the Hatters, stopping 28 of 31 shots.
Upper Dublin 1-1-1 3
Hatboro-Horsham 3-5-4 12
First period: 1, Sayvion Jones HH (Ben Lerner) 4:41; 2, Vince Tarsi HH (Aidan Esack/Ziyad Elsabbagh) 5:31; 3, Ben Lerner HH (Sayvion Jones) 7:51; 4, Max Frearson UD, 12:18.
Second period: 5, Alex Howieson HH (Vince Tarsi/Aidan Esack) 0:15; 6, Sayvion Jones HH (Ben Lerner) 3:19; 7, Ben Lerner HH (Jordan Gillis) 7:09; 8, Ari Nordlinger UD, 7:35; 9, Aidan Esack HH (Vince Tarsi/Alex Howieson) 12:04; 10, Ben Lerner HH, 14:00.
Third period: 11, Vince Tarsi HH (Alex Howieson) 5:07, 12; Alex Howieson HH (Ben Lerner/Vince Tarsi) 5:48; 13, Oren Serafin UD (Ari Nordlinger) 7:44; 14, Ben Heywood HH (Tarek Elsabbagh) 8:26; 15, Seth Lerner HH, 11:59.
Shots: HH 51, UD 31. Saves: Liam Nixon (UD) 39, Mason Rash (HH) 28.
WILLIAM TENNENT 7, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 3
Bobby Markus contributed a hat trick and also had an assist. His four-point night led the Panthers to the non-league win.
Goals by Bryan Mesaros (Matthew Castan/Brendan Volpe assists) and Markus (Zach Devor assist) spotted the Panthers a 2-0 lead after one period. The Indians rallied to knot the score, thanks to goals by Jude Hollister on a power play (Wilton Pasch/Michael Janora assists) and Vladimir Litvinov. The Panthers closed out the period with back-to-back goals by Thomas Hartenstein and Jonathan Kreider with Kreider’s coming on a power play with a Markus assist. Josh Neas and Chad Cartwright assisted on Hartenstein’s goal.
A goal by Litvinov 1:21 into the final period made it a 5-3 game, but Markus (Gavin Loughlin/Mason McKeever assists), Andrew Matz (Mesaros assist) and Markus (McKeever assist) answered for the Panthers.
Council Rock North 0-2-1 3
William Tennent 2-2-3 7
First period: 1, Bryan Mesaros WT (Matthew Castan/Brendan Volpe) 8:43; 2, Bobby Markus WT (Zach Devor) 11:30.
Second period: 3, Jude Hollister CRN (Wilton Pasch/Michael Janora) 3:06; 4, Vladimir Litvinov CRN, 5:42; 5, Thomas Hartenstein WT (Josh Neas/Chad Cartwright) 12:29; 6, Jonathan Kreider WT (Bobby Markus) 15:27.
Third period: 7, Vladimir Litvinov CRN, 1:21; 8, Bobby Markus WT (Gavin Loughlin/Mason McKeever) 7:30; 9, Andrew Matz WT (Bryan Mesaros) 10:11; 10; Bobby Markus WT (Mason McKeever) 12:10.
Shots: CRN 11, WT 29. Saves: Red Goldberg (CRN) 22, Trey Smitih (WT) 8.
WISSAHICKON 11, UPPER MORELAND/ARCHBISHOP WOOD 0
Sean Garry had an eight-point night to lead the Trojans, scoring two goals and assisting on six others. Bryan Garry was not far behind with six points, which included five goals and one assist. Matt Cade collected a hat trick and also had an assist.
Sean Garry’s short-handed goal 2:29 into the game turned out to be the game-winner. By the time the period was over, Sean Garry had a goal and three assists. Bryan Garry was on the receiving end of Sean Garry’s assists on two goals. Cade accounted for the other goal, also with a Sean Garry assist. The Trojans brought an early end to the game with seven unanswered goals in the second period.
Michael Henderson recorded five saves in the shutout win.
Wissahickon 4-7-0 11
UM/Wood 0-0-0 0
First period: 1, Sean Garry W, 2:29; 2, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 6:44; 3, Matt Cade W (Sean Garry) 9:18; 4, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 12:16.
Second period: 5, Bryan Garry W (Nicholas Hussa) 2:04; 6, Bryan Garry W (Sean Garry) 4:03; 7, Matt Cade W (Bryan Garry/Daniel Glazer) 5:29; 8, Nicholas Hussa W (Ben Junker/Calle Kuffner) 8:27; 9, Bryan Garry W (Matt Cade/Sean Garry) 13:24; 11, Sean Garry W, 15:49.
Third period: No score
Shots: Wissahickon 29, UM/AW 5. Saves: Michael Henderson (W) 5, Michael Denardo (UM/AW) 11.
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